I'm not sure why I waited so long to introduce myself here but after a year and a half of this high-pitched buzzing in my head I've finally come to realize this may never go away.
My tinnitus started in July of 2014 and it just came out of the blue. I remember the beginning so well because it seemed to start with the onset of neck and back pain. As a fairly regular cyclist and runner (I used to race triathlons) reaching middle age and never having had good flexibility, it didn't take much for me to hurt my back and/or neck and I remember one bike ride, while on vacation, where I turned my head in just a way that a shooting pain took over one side of my back. Over the next couple of days my back felt better but the pain seemed to move into my neck. Riding a bike for a long time can be tough on your neck, it's just the position you're in. It's around here that the ringing began. After that ride I stopped exercising for a while and went to a chiropractor because my neck pain was not going away. The ringing was off and on too - it would bother me for a day or two, then no problems for a day or two. My chiro thought the ringing in my ears was being caused by the spasms I was having in my neck. After a couple months, the neck pain and headaches were finally gone, but the ringing wasn't. I went to my regular doctor, who sent me to an ENT. My hearing and ears were fine, there was no explanation. I went to a sports doc that my chiro recommended. He ordered me an MRI – there was nothing structurally wrong with me, and the ringing continued in the same sporadic nature. That winter I started acupuncture. While I liked the acupuncture for how it helped me with my stress, my tinnitus was not getting better and I eventually gave up on it.
For all of 2015, I just dealt with it. I started to think that maybe this was stress. My work is stressful (whose isn't?) and at certain times it was certainly more stressful than others. It was those times I kinda think that maybe the tinnitus was the worst but I certainly could not establish a direct link.
I was back in my primary docs office summer of 2015, no change to my tinnitus, and she had no other real solutions to offer. I got a night guard from my dentist, she said I was grinding my teeth, maybe that would help? Nope.
So now here I am, January of 2016, and I can say that this has now gotten worse. It used to be an on again/off again thing. Now it's constant. The times when it's louder are becoming more frequent. The correlation with stress does not seem to be bearing out – I actually feel so much more mellow about work (and most things – it's something I've been working on) and here I am with this, this, arghhhhh!!!
My only theory: Music/tv on my headphones. As someone who has run a ton, both indoors and outdoors, and ridden a bike a lot indoors – I've almost always had music on while doing this. Now I've never blasted it, but I can't say I've had it on low either. A treadmill makes noise, an indoor bike trainer makes noise. When watching TV you want to hear what they're saying, so it's reasonable to say there's always been some volume. I also listen to music when I walk to and from work (15 minutes each way). Again, the volume is moderate. I'm not really exposed to any other loud noises and I rarely go to rock concerts anymore. Oh, just remembered, I had vertigo 7 years ago that I believe came from a middle ear infection. It lasted about 10 weeks and I've never had a relapse – but no roller coasters or amusement park rides for me.
So I'm not sure where to go now. I'm 44 years old, father of 3, happily married, employed and in good health. I'm not overweight, I exercise fairly regularly, eat OK, drink a couple times a week but rarely anything more than a few at once. I'd love to hear any advice you all have.
Thanks for reading.
My tinnitus started in July of 2014 and it just came out of the blue. I remember the beginning so well because it seemed to start with the onset of neck and back pain. As a fairly regular cyclist and runner (I used to race triathlons) reaching middle age and never having had good flexibility, it didn't take much for me to hurt my back and/or neck and I remember one bike ride, while on vacation, where I turned my head in just a way that a shooting pain took over one side of my back. Over the next couple of days my back felt better but the pain seemed to move into my neck. Riding a bike for a long time can be tough on your neck, it's just the position you're in. It's around here that the ringing began. After that ride I stopped exercising for a while and went to a chiropractor because my neck pain was not going away. The ringing was off and on too - it would bother me for a day or two, then no problems for a day or two. My chiro thought the ringing in my ears was being caused by the spasms I was having in my neck. After a couple months, the neck pain and headaches were finally gone, but the ringing wasn't. I went to my regular doctor, who sent me to an ENT. My hearing and ears were fine, there was no explanation. I went to a sports doc that my chiro recommended. He ordered me an MRI – there was nothing structurally wrong with me, and the ringing continued in the same sporadic nature. That winter I started acupuncture. While I liked the acupuncture for how it helped me with my stress, my tinnitus was not getting better and I eventually gave up on it.
For all of 2015, I just dealt with it. I started to think that maybe this was stress. My work is stressful (whose isn't?) and at certain times it was certainly more stressful than others. It was those times I kinda think that maybe the tinnitus was the worst but I certainly could not establish a direct link.
I was back in my primary docs office summer of 2015, no change to my tinnitus, and she had no other real solutions to offer. I got a night guard from my dentist, she said I was grinding my teeth, maybe that would help? Nope.
So now here I am, January of 2016, and I can say that this has now gotten worse. It used to be an on again/off again thing. Now it's constant. The times when it's louder are becoming more frequent. The correlation with stress does not seem to be bearing out – I actually feel so much more mellow about work (and most things – it's something I've been working on) and here I am with this, this, arghhhhh!!!
My only theory: Music/tv on my headphones. As someone who has run a ton, both indoors and outdoors, and ridden a bike a lot indoors – I've almost always had music on while doing this. Now I've never blasted it, but I can't say I've had it on low either. A treadmill makes noise, an indoor bike trainer makes noise. When watching TV you want to hear what they're saying, so it's reasonable to say there's always been some volume. I also listen to music when I walk to and from work (15 minutes each way). Again, the volume is moderate. I'm not really exposed to any other loud noises and I rarely go to rock concerts anymore. Oh, just remembered, I had vertigo 7 years ago that I believe came from a middle ear infection. It lasted about 10 weeks and I've never had a relapse – but no roller coasters or amusement park rides for me.
So I'm not sure where to go now. I'm 44 years old, father of 3, happily married, employed and in good health. I'm not overweight, I exercise fairly regularly, eat OK, drink a couple times a week but rarely anything more than a few at once. I'd love to hear any advice you all have.
Thanks for reading.
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